Valve



Aug. 6, 1940- w. F. AQLBRIGHT VALVE Filed Aug. 30, 1939 9 E w m: 0 3 3 I Patented 6, 1940 UNITED STATES VALVE William F. Albright, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application August 30,

3 Claims.

My invention relates to valves which are suitable for controlling the flow of all fluids such as air and other gases, steam, water, oil and other liquids.

One object of my invention is to provide a valve which avoids the necessity of washers or gaskets at the valve seating surfaces, and which will, nevertheless, when closed, prevent flow at even extremely high pressures.

Another object of my invention is to provide a valve structure wherein the valve seat and the cooperating metallic face of the valve are self-grinding through movements of the valve.

Another object of my invention is to provide a valve structure wherein the cooperating surfaces of the valve and its seat are maintained constantly in engagement by the fluid pressure t which enters the valve chamber at all positions oi. the valve.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a valve structure which can be conveniently of tubular contour on its external surface, and wherein there are no projecting parts.

A further object of my invention is to provide a valve structure wherein a plurality of valve members are positioned in series within the line of flow through-a valve chamber and are operable by a single actuating member.

A still further object is to provide a valve suitable for widely varying pressure ranges and or general utility but which, nevertheless, is of simplified and compact form and is self-cleaning.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view through the valve,

35 with the valve ports closed; Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are views taken on the lines 11-11, Ill-4H and IV-IV, respectively, of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a view taken on the line V-V of Fig. 2, and shows the valve ports open to the flow of fluid through 40 the valve; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the valve seat of Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the main valve of Fig. 1.

The valve structure is shown as connected with an inflow pipe 8 and an outflow pipe 8, and comprises a tubular member l0, which serves as a valve chamber, and caps II and I2 have screw-threaded connection with the valve chamber Ill and with the pipes 8 and 9.

A valve seat I3 is positioned within the chamber l0 and has passageways or ports l4 extending therethrough. The valve seat is held against rotative. movement in the valve chamber by stop screws or studs ii that extend through the wall of the chamber [0 into longitudinally-extending slots formed in the valve seat IS. A valve I6 1939, Serial No. 292,636

is mounted for oscillatory movement in the valve chamber I0 and has passageways I1 extending therethrough which, when the valve is in its open position, will be in alignment with the ports I 4. The valve i6 carries a stud H which projectsv 6 through a slot l9 that extends for a short distance circumferentially of the valve chamber lb. The valve I6 is oscillated by means of a sleeve that is provided with a longitudinally-extending slot 2| into which the stud i 8 projects, the 10 sleeve being provided with a pointer 22 which registers with on and "of? indications on the casing ill, to show whether the valve is open or closed.

A plug 24 is screwed into one end of the valve l5 chamber l0 and has ports or passageways 25 that are always in axial alignment with the ports I 4 of the valve seat, and are in axial alignment with the ports I! of the valve member I6 when the valve is in its open position, as shown more clearly in Fig.5. The plug 24 is held against idle turning movement by set screws 26 that are carried by the casing I 0. The valve plug 24 is also provided with ports 21, the forward ends of which are enlarged to receive balls 28 which 25 serve as valves, in that when the valve member I 6 is in such position that its ports I! are out of registry with the ports I! in the valve seat l3, said ports I! will be in registry with the ports 21 and the balls will seat against the ends o! the ports I! to prevent flow of fluid through the valve. This additional sealing eflect is particularly useful in connection with air or gases at high pressures, which might tend to leak past the cooperating seating surfaces of the valve I6 and the seat member l3. When the valve 16 is turned to bring its portsl'l into registry with the ports I 4, such ports I! will thereby be brought into registry also with the ports 25 of the valve plug 24, this movement of the valve 40 member l6 serving to push the balls 28 into their bores, by a camming action.

Annular sealing rings 29 and 30 ofxsuitable packing material are provided between the valve IB and the plug 24 and the valve seat l3, respectively, and these rings are compressed through screwing up of i an adjusting ring 3| within the casing III, the member 3| being ad- Justed to such position that the packing rings will be compressed to prevent leakage.

It will be seen that the valve can be moved between its fully open and closed positions by about a rotation thereof, and that the valve member IE will be constantly subjected to pressure from the line 8 at both open and closed 65 positions of the valve, so that the cooperating seating surfaces of the members l6 and I3 will always be maintained in engagement, with minimum danger of foreign material getting between such surfaces. Also, there will be a constant grinding or smoothing of the valve surfaces 32 during rotary movements of the valve, and by reason of the tapered or truncated conical form of the seating surfaces between the members l3 and I6, a better sealing eifect will be secured and maintained than if such surfaces were flat. The seating surfaces 32 are desirably tapered on an angle of about 25 to a diametral plane. The seating surfaces 32 are initially ground and fitted to form true complementary surfaces, and the valve seat I3 is provided with a recess 33 at the apex of the inclined surfaces, thus assuring uniform smoothing of the valve surfaces during rotation of the valve IS;

The valve will be not only one of general utility, but will be particularly useful-in restricted areas where it is undesirable or impossible to have valve-operating stems projecting from the valve body, and also in the cleaning of boiler tubes, still tubes, milk pipes, etc., wherein it may be convenient to insert the water or steam 'into the tube and close the valve before the pipe 9 is completely withdrawn, at the completion of a cleaning operation. The pipe 9 could simply carry flushing water or could supply fluid to a turbine type boiler cleaner. Also, when the valve is employed to control flow of viscous or dirty fluid, the valve will be self-cleaning, since the ports are aligned and are parallel to the direction of flow of the fluid.

I claim as my invention:

1. A valve structure comprising a casing, a seating member in the casing and provided with a port radially ofiset from the center thereof, and extending in an axial direction, a plug member having a port in axial alignment with the first-named port, and having a port offset with respect thereto in a circumferential direction, an auxiliary valve member in the last-named port,

a rotatable valve member between the seating member andthe plug member and having a port extending therethrough in an axial direction, and means for rotating the valve member to bring its port into registry with the first-named ports, at one position, and into registry with the second-named port of the plug member, at another position, the said auxiliary valve member having seating engagement with the port' in the rotatable valve member, at the last-named position thereof.

2. A valve structure comprising a casing having an inlet at one end and an outlet at its other end, a seating member adjacent to the outlet and provided with a port extending axially therethrough, a rotatable valve member having engagement with the inner end of the seating member and provided with a port which is movable into registry with the first-named port, a plug member in the casing adjacent to the inlet end thereof, and provided with a pair of spaced ports, one of which will be in registry with the valve port when the valve port registers with the seat port, and the other one of which will be in registry with the valve port when the valve and seat ports are out of registry, and a valve movable into position to prevent flow from the said other port of the plug member into the valve port, at the last-named position of the valve.

3. A valve structure comprising a casing having inlet and outlet openings adjacent to its ends, a seatingmember fitting within the casing near the outer end thereof, and provided with a port radially offset from its center, a rotatable valve member fitting within the casing and against the seating member, and provided with an axially-extending port that will be moved into and out of registry with the first-named port, upon rotative movements of the valve, a packing ring positioned to prevent leakage between the peripheral wall of the rotatable valve and the inner wall of the casing, and an auxiliary 

